The panel will be led by two international partners in Reed Smith’s global Energy and Natural Resources group: Houston-based partner Todd Culwell, whose multifaceted practice focuses on global energy transactions in oil and gas, infrastructure and project financings; and Tarek Abdalla, who, over the last 16 years at the firm has accumulated major project experience in the energy industry.

They will be joined by Industry guest panelist Shane Willoughby, McDermott International’s Senior Director of Legal and Compliance for North, Central and South America.

Culwell and Abdalla will first present on:

Project front-end work and development, including:

Technology selection

FEED selection

Form of construction contract

Selection of appropriate contractors

Construction contract structuring for projects, including:

Determination of appropriate commercial model

Contractor selection criteria

Pricing options

Pros and cons of each

Mitigating risks in construction projects

Willoughby will detail further risk management challenges and procedures in executing projects and developing technology; and he will conclude with a list of key risk assessment questions for owners and contractors.

Project financing aspects

For further reading: Tarek Abdalla, who was named a 2018 ADR Champion by the National Law Journal, was recently featured in a related Q&A with Corporate Disputes magazine on international infrastructure disputes.